GENEVA, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), the world's leading supplier of silicon chips for set-top boxes (STBs)*, today announced it is bolstering its leadership in DVB-S2 digital satellite broadcast solutions with the launch of a new STB 'front-end' chipset for digital satellite high-definition TV equipment. The new STV6110A silicon tuner and the STV0903 single-channel satellite TV demodulator meet all the requirements of the DVB-S2 standard for broadcast applications. The use of DVB-S2 by consumer equipment manufacturers is strongly increasing in a wide range of applications, including Pay-TV and free-to-air STBs, integrated digital TVs (iDTVs), PC TV cards and the emerging high-definition Blu-ray (BD) equipment.
The DVB-S2 standard increases the capacity of satellite communications links by 30% compared to DVB-S (Digital Video Broadcast for Satellite), which has been in use for many years by satellite operators worldwide. In combination with other new coding and satellite technologies, DVB-S2 enables the effective deployment of high data-rate applications such as HDTV, broadband Internet and interactive services, as well as a significant increase in the number of standard channels that can be broadcast in a conventional transponder. Major satellite operators covering Europe, North Africa and the Middle-East are now in the process of accelerating the migration of all their satellite transponders to the more efficient DVB-S2 standard. The use of the standard is also increasing outside of the US and Western Europe, toward emerging markets such as Russia, India and Brazil, as well as Eastern Europe.
"ST has shipped more than five million DVB-S2 chipsets to leading makers of high-definition set-top boxes and integrated digital TVs and has, by far, the industry's widest portfolio of silicon IP and field-proven digital TV solutions," said Philippe Lambinet, Executive Vice President and General Manager of ST's Home Entertainment Group. "ST is able to offer leading operators and consumer manufacturers a wide choice of advanced platforms including this new stand-alone tuner and demodulator solution or complete fully integrated set-top box platforms, including tuner and single-chip integrated demodulator and decoder."
The new STV0903 demodulator, which operates seamlessly with ST's new STV6110A silicon tuner, is implemented in a cost-optimized process technology and allows easy upgrade to ST's dual-channel STV0900 demodulator, which was launched in early 2007. The STV6110A silicon tuner is a replacement for ST's STB6000 and STB6100 tuners, which have shipped a cumulative volume of more than 30 million units since 2004. The STV6110A is also suitable for use in markets outside of the DVB-S2 standard, such as Japan, and China, in which new satellite standards are emerging. Importantly, this new STV6110A tuner and STV0903 demodulator combo provides manufacturers with a significant reduction in power consumption offering 600mW and 1.2W, respectively, which is approximately 50% of the combined power consumption of ST's previous chipset.
Full software support is available via ST's application program interface (STAPI), enabling ease of use with ST's extensive family of standard- and high-definition H.264/MPEG-4/VC-1 decoders. Both new devices support QPSK (quadrature-phase-shift-keying) and 8PSK modulation, as well as both DVB-S and DVB-S2 processing. The STV0903 demodulator is packaged in a 14 x 14mm 128-pin LQFP and is priced at $9 in quantities of 10,000. The STV6110A tuner is packaged in a 5 x 5mm 32-pin QFN and is priced at $1.5 in quantities of 10,000. Both devices are available now in production volumes.
About STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics is a global leader in developing and delivering semiconductor solutions across the spectrum of microelectronics applications. An unrivalled combination of silicon and system expertise, manufacturing strength, Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio and strategic partners positions the Company at the forefront of System-on-Chip (SoC) technology and its products play a key role in enabling today's convergence markets. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, on Euronext Paris and on the Milan Stock Exchange. In 2007, the Company's net revenues were $10 billion. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com.
* 'MPEG Video ICs: H.264 in the Limelight' published by InStat, June 2007
Web site: http://www.st.com/
